Uh-Oh ~ Spinning Wheel Assembly!

This year i really went all out and bought myself a late birthday(Nov. 4)/early holiday gift for myself. I've been looking at spinning wheels for quite a while and finally decided on a Babe. It's one of the most(if not THE most) inexpensive spinning wheel brands i've found and from my research, they are quite amazing and versatile. They are made from PVC pipes which is part of the reason why they are inexpensive, yet this makes them very lightweight and the no fuss assembly makes them ideal to travel with.

I purchased a production spinning wheel, double treadle(2 pedals) in white. I assembled mine in about 30-45 minutes; not too bad for such a newbie as myself. I have tried a spinning wheel once in my life(not the best experience) and haven't been around many at all, so for a novice like me that's not too shabby. It took about 2 weeks for it to arrive(quicker than i expected actually) and it came neatly packaged in a rather compact box. From what i recall(from their website), the wheel itself is a wheelchair wheel. I purchased mine from woolery.com, however Babe does sell them directly from their website at babesfibergarden.com.

I decided to set it up in my basement; it's where i had the most room for assembly and will have the most privacy(for plenty of practice). You can call it our family room, it's where all the game systems are set up. Since my husband isn't much of a gamer, you can call this my spot...and now even more so :D.

 This wheel really had a very easy assembly. It was rather self explanatory and not many parts to put together at all. My favorite part was the pedals, i just loved how they snapped onto the base as well as have the velcro straps for extra security(why i love them, i don't know lol). The real 'assembly' part of it i would say is the 2 screws it came with...that's it(a screw driver is required for this)! It did take me a few tries to get the drive band on(it goes around the wheel itself as well as the bobbin) and it did take me a second to figure out how the flyer mechanism works(did i use the correct terminology there? The whole bobbin/hooks section).

While i had my doubtful moments where i wondered if i got it right(regardless of reading the directions) there was actually a YouTube channel that i found very, very helpful. It was the only one, actually, that showed in some detail how a Babe spinning wheel actually works...and even if 'assembly' wasn't really the point/take of the video, the information provided did help me quite a bit. Check this spinner out at Expertly Dyed. She's a spinner/dyer/knitter that i've been following almost since i've started my own channel, and she has tons of information that other spinners/dyers will find useful i'm sure.

The video i made isn't really to take you step-by-step in how i put the wheel together, but rather it's just to share my experience. It's sped up quite a bit(not sure anyone would really want to sit there and watch it in real time!) and i did cut out a few sections here and there, specially when i took my time reading directions before going further. I had a chance to play around with it for a couple of days now, i would say about 2-3 hours so far. I found that my hands get cramped after about half an hour of spinning, but that's understandable since it would take some time to get used to repeated movements you're not used to(ie drafting). I'm getting better at multi-tasking with my hands while my feet are busy pedaling as well.... it will take some practice but so far so good!